


When We Go Home

by TheyDontBurnLikeUs_27



Series: Don't Monster's Breathe Fire? [3]
Category: The Darkest Minds Series - Alexandra Bracken
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Morning, Cole is a Firefighter, Dreams and Nightmares, Family Dynamics, Gen, Liam gets a Puppy, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:27:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28309005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheyDontBurnLikeUs_27/pseuds/TheyDontBurnLikeUs_27
Summary: Going home is always hard but for Cole Stewart, it seems like he's traveling right back into his nightmares. He's already nervous and that's before everything starts going wrong. It's harder to hide his secret in such close quarters and he's not sure how much longer he can.
Relationships: Ruby Daly & Cole Stewart, Ruby Daly/Liam Stewart, Vida Bautista/Charles Carrington "Chubs" Meriwether IV
Series: Don't Monster's Breathe Fire? [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2037382
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	When We Go Home

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas!!! This is by far the longest one-shot I've ever written so I really hope you all like it. This was written as a result of my sister telling me I needed to write something completely happy (not sure if I accomplished that) but anyway please tell me what you think. Also, all the characters are aged up 3 years and Zu and Jude live with Cate.

Ruby rushed through the rain hoisting the paper grocery bag higher into her arms. The icy sleet dripped down her open shirt collar and soaked through her thin jacket. She reached the door and realized she couldn’t open it while holding the paper bag “come on” she muttered banging into the door with her shoulder. 

A minute later the door opened to reveal a man she didn’t recognize “I’m here for Cole Stewart” she said with a small cough, trying to turn her face into her shoulder. The new firefighter gave her an odd look before grabbing the bag from her “Uh where should I bring this?” he asked. 

He looked a little bit older than Cole, maybe twenty-seven? “Could you just bring it to the bunk room please?” she said and he shot her another questioning look before complying. Ruby followed him down the familiar hallway. “Thank you for the help,” she said, trying to muffle another cough into her elbow. 

As she dropped the other wet bag onto Coles bed she felt her head spinning and just gave up and sat down on his bed, she smiled at the familiarity. Cole's bed still smelled like smoke and his cologne which made Ruby smile. The other firefighter was sitting on his bunk frowning “So are you new?” Ruby asked trying to fill the silence “No actually” Ruby’s head was pounding “Stewart never mentioned that he had a wife.” 

Ruby blinked trying to clear her mind “oh you know him” she said and he looked at her confusedly “We do work together” he said as Ruby tried to process his words suddenly she straightened up “Oh no you don’t understand,” she said laughing uncomfortably “Cole and I aren’t married” he looked incredibly uncomfortable “I’m sorry I just saw the ring and I assumed."

" I’m married to his brother Liam,” Ruby said, her sentence punctuated by a sneeze he looked concerned about Ruby’s unsteadiness and a bit embarrassed “I’m sorry,” he said “no, no it’s fine. ”

They fell into an awkward silence and eventually he left to workout leaving Ruby alone. By this time she was freezing but she didn’t have a change of clothes so she ended up just laying down and pulling Coles blankets around her covering her pounding head and blocking out the light.  
_  
_  
_  
“Gem” someone shook her lightly “Gem, wake up we have to go” the warm hands shook her aching body gently but her stomach revolted at the movement. Bolting upwards Ruby leaned blindly over the bed and threw up all over Coles boots. “Well shit Gem” Cole muttered, reaching to rub her back. 

Ruby coughed harshly and wiped her mouth on her shirtsleeve “I’m so sorry Cole” she whispered hoarsely, her cheeks flaming. “It’s fine Gem, hey we should get you home to somewhere where you can rest."

Cole leaned down to unlace his boots, dropping them unceremoniously into the pile of vomit “They were ruined anyway.” he said, “can you stand Gem, or are you going to throw up again?” he asked awkwardly “I think I can stand” she said allowing Cole to lift her to her feet “okay steady Gem” he said as he pulled her up and led her towards the bathroom. 

Cole pounded his fist against the door “anyone in here?” when no one answered Cole pushed her through the door. He wrapped an arm around Ruby’s waist to support her as she clumsily washed off her face. “If you want to brush your teeth you can use my toothbrush but I don’t have an extra.” 

She just nodded miserably as Cole chuckled and handed her his toothbrush. When she was done Cole gave her a black tee and some sweats “I know they’ll be big on you but I don’t have anything else and yours are wet and dirty.” Cole said, running a hand through his blond hair, Ruby just nodded again and walked shakily to the other side of the room Cole turned his back and let her change while guarding the door. 

When Ruby was done Cole scooped her up against her protests and carried her back to the bunk room placing her on the bed while he cleaned up the vomit. When he was done he turned to Ruby and handed her a leather familiar jacket “This is Liams” she said immediately. Cole gave her the most exasperated look imaginable “I know. He took mine” Ruby's eyebrows raised and drew together as she looked at Cole in surprise “again?” she asked in something akin to horror “please tell me your joking and he forgot his” Cole only smirked in response “I wish I could Gem.” He replied before wrapping Liam's jacket around her. 

Cole then proceeded to throw a random array of clothes into his bag, hoisting it over his shoulder he used his free arm to grab the bag of Christmas presents, and with the other, he supported Ruby towards his car. Once he dumped the luggage in the back he lifted Ruby into the passenger seat and started driving. His fingers twitched against the steering wheel but he left the music off. 

Just when Ruby was finally drifting off to sleep Cole pulled over and got out of the car “I’ll be right back, alright?” Ruby nodded in response and wondered where they were. 

When Cole came back to the car he was carrying a tiny bundle. “What’s that?” Ruby asked sitting up a little straighter to try and see what he was holding. “This is your lovely husband's Christmas present,” Cole said handing Ruby the squirming blanket. Ruby pulled back the corner to reveal a tiny golden retriever puppy. 

“No,” Ruby said immediately as she pet the puppy “We don’t have any room for a puppy” Cole smiled at her as she lifted the little puppy up towards her face with a small smile. He knew she’d like it. 

“Lee’s been wanting a puppy like that since he was four years old,” Cole said watching Ruby with a small smile, “thought it was about time he got one.” Ruby didn’t answer him but smiled instead “that was very thoughtful of you” Ruby added which made Cole smile. 

“Well, while you're cuddling that puppy why don’t you try to get a little sleep? Don’t want to be sick on Christmas” he said. Ruby nodded again trying to avoid speaking because her throat was burning. 

Cole seemed to know how she felt and gave her a sympathetic glance before tossing her one of his jackets to use as a pillow. “Sorry if I’m not great at this I don’t exactly have practice” he muttered uncomfortably keeping his eyes on the road. 

This caught Ruby's attention “what do you mean?” she asked. Cole shifted a little “I just go about my day as best I can when I get sick.” that confession woke Ruby up a little “what if you need help?” Cole shrugged his shoulders awkwardly looking like he wanted to go back in time and keep his mouth shut. 

“I can’t get help Gem, worst case scenario I take a day off and try to sleep or something.” Ruby tried not to look horrified but failed miserably. The whole subject might not have been so surprising to her if she didn’t currently feel like she needed his help to walk. Coles seemed to understand what direction her thoughts were heading in and tried to explain to her “you know my temperature is naturally high right?” Ruby nodded in confirmation “it’s normally around 103 degrees so if I get sick it spikes up to like,” he stopped to think for a second “I think the highest it ever got was 109.5” her eyes widened but she let Cole continue his rambling “fever reducers don’t really work for me, I’m not sure why and I can’t go to the hospital or anything so I guess I just learned to deal with it” he finished lamely. 

Ruby didn’t say anything, she didn’t know what to say and eventually, the silence lulled her to sleep. She only woke up one more time on the drive, to puke into some bushes before falling back to sleep.  
_  
_  
_

“Hey darlin’,” a warm voice asked from somewhere beside her “um…” Ruby mumbled sleepily ignoring the small sweet kisses Liam was pressing to her neck from behind her. “Do you feel any better?” he asked and Ruby just nodded her head as she rolled over to face Liam, curling in closer to his warmth. 

Now that he mentioned it she did feel much better, her symptoms seemed much less severe and they were all bearable now. “I do,” she whispered nuzzling further into Liam's chest. He chuckled and the deep sound vibrated through his chest making Ruby smile. “Seems like Cole took good care of you” Ruby smiled and pressed her face into his neck “he did.” 

About ten minutes later there was a knock on the door which made Liam groan “Come in” he grumbled. To his surprise, it was Vida that walked through the door “When did you get here?” Liam asked surprised “just now, I heard my boo was sick and I thought I’d check up on you” Ruby smiled at the rare glimpse of Vida's sweet side “hear you threw up on Stewart” she added with a smirk, effectively ruining the moment. Ruby blushed and hid her face in Liam's shirt again while Vida laughed and Chubs shooed her from the room. 

“Where is Cole?” Ruby asked turning away from Liam when she felt the tickle in her throat “He’s kind of hiding in his room...” Ruby unintentionally interrupted him by collapsing into another coughing fit that shook her body. “Damn darlin’, are you alright?” 

Ruby nodded a little bit as her eyelids grew heavy again “mhhh” she mumbled which made Liam smile again, leaning over to kiss her forehead “go talk to your brother” she mumbled as Liam pulled another blanket over her “anything for you darlin’" he said kissing her cheek and leaving her to sleep.  
_  
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_

Liam walked into the kitchen where his Mom and Harry were bustling around making dinner for everyone. “Is Cole still in his room?” Liam asked making his mom frown “yes, he said he was tired,” she gave a small sigh and Harry wrapped his arm around her waist “I thought things would be different now that he’s older...” She started before trailing off into silence. Harry sighed “It ain’t your fault darlin’ sometimes people just get off on the wrong track and that’s that.” 

This sparked a bit of anger in Liam “look he’s trying okay?” Liam said without thinking which made both of his parents look up to him in surprise “what do you mean Liam?” Harry asked surprised that he was defending his brother “I’m just saying that he’s been through a lot” both parents looked skeptical but Liam had already left. 

Stomping up the stairs Liam pounded his fist against Coles door a little harder than necessary. “I’m wrapping presents” came his brother's muffled response “It’s Liam” he heard Cole stop shuffling and come to the door (he had left the puppy with the neighbors until tomorrow.) “Hey Lee,” he said upon opening the door. 

He didn’t look great, his hair was a bit messed up but mostly he just looked tired and distracted. “Can I come in?” Liam asked as Cole stepped aside, gesturing him in. “Um… I haven’t been in here for a long time” Liam commented lamely making Cole raise his eyebrows. 

“Did you need something?” Cole asked not unkindly “Just wanted to check up on you, everyone's downstairs, they want to see you” Cole looked extremely uncomfortable but nodded anyway following Liam down the stairs. 

He tried to avoid Harry’s eyes as he walked through the kitchen to sit in the living room with Chubs, Vida, and Liam. 

“Well look who finally decided to grace us with their presence,” Vida said sarcastically, flipping her blue hair over her shoulder and into her boyfriend's face as Chubs groaned. “Of course, I wouldn’t leave my girl hanging” all he got in response to that comment was Vida's middle finger pointed casually in his direction. 

As everyone talked and tried to get caught up Cole was trying to ignore Harry’s piercing gaze on the back of his head, there was something far too familiar and unnerving about being back here. It wasn’t the same as it had been before but it wasn't different enough either. 

“Is there a shooting range around here?” he asked, turning to Harry who was still standing in the doorway watching them. He didn’t seem to like the idea of Cole with a gun “no, just a boxing gym” Vida looked like Christmas had come early “well what are we waiting for!” Chubs rolled his eyes at her enthusiasm. “Is it even open Christmas eve?” Liam asked. 

Harry had that look on his face of a person who was not normally surprised by things but had just been very surprised unexpectedly. “I doubt it,” he said, taking note of the way Cole's excitement drained away, only he hadn’t seemed excited, more relieved… 

“Why don’t we just spar out back?” Vida asked which seemed to relocate Liam's attention from his brother “that’s not a bad idea” he didn’t seem to have any interest in the actual activity but he was watching Cole and Vida closely, particularly Cole. 

“Do you still have that old punching bag?” Liam asked curiously, we could hang it up from the tree out back for Cole and Vida. Harry nodded his head hesitantly and gestured for everyone to follow him to the garage. He didn’t miss the dark shadows under Cole's eyes or the way his hands twitched at his side and he wondered not for the first time if the kid was doing drugs.  
_  
_  
_

Vida stood behind the punching bag holding it steady as Cole pummeled it with eerie precision. He didn’t like having a crowd but he needed to blow off some steam and right now this was his best option. Harry only had one pair of boxing gloves and Vida was wearing them so Cole's hands were just wrapped. “Jesus you’re good at that,” Vida commented watching as Cole moved faster and hit harder sending the bag swinging towards Vida who struggled to steady it against his vicious attacks. “Why didn’t Alban ever put you in charge of hand to hand combat?” Vida asked as he hit the bag a couple more times in quick succession. 

“Guess I was too good in the field,” he said through heavy breaths. He kept at it for at least another half hour before Vida got tired and went inside to shower dragging a flustered Chubs behind her. 

After that Liam agreed to hold the bag for her for a little while but after fifteen minutes he had to go check on Ruby which left Cole and Harry alone in the yard. Cole's white T-shirt was so sweaty it was see-through and Harry didn’t comment but he could see scars through the shirt. “You coming inside to catch up with your mom?” Harry asked, “I’m just going to go for a quick run, but I’ll be back soon.” Harry gave him a look that said very clearly that he was disappointed in him. Cole seemed to shrink under his gaze but he couldn’t stay, he just needed a little more air so he watched as Harry walked away toward the house. 

He ran for at least another hour before he made it back to the house. Ruby was sitting wrapped in blankets on the couch with Liam's arms around her, she gave Cole a look that showed a good deal of concern and he shrugged in response as if he was saying ‘it’s better now’ she nodded and let him go shower.  
_  
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_

Dinner was great Harry and Grace had gone all out and even Ruby felt much better and was sitting at the table. Cole was exhausted but for the first time in a long time he was happy and his hands were steady as he lifted the glass of water to his lips. 

Everything went well and the food was delicious. By the time he followed Liam and Ruby up the stairs he felt like he might actually be able to sleep. 

Ruby leaned in to hug Cole and he hesitantly wrapped his arms around her “G’night gem” he said as she released him, then to his surprise, Liam also embraced him and Cole was shocked “uh, do we hug?” Liam shrugged and Ruby laughed at the two of them “you’re hot” Liam said pulling Cole closer in the cool hallway “Not sure that’s appropriate Lee” Liam pulled back from Cole and glared at him before turning to Ruby and scooping her up, carrying her into the bedroom. 

Cole laughed and walked to his room, as soon as he changed into a black tee he collapsed onto the bed, and for the first time ever his eyes closed as soon as his head hit the pillow.  
_  
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_

Ruby woke up in the middle of the night feeling much better except for her dry scratchy throat. Pulling out of Liam's arms she walked down to the bathroom and filled a glass with water. As she walked barefoot down the hallway with her cup she heard a weird noise from Coles room. She pressed her ear against the door and heard another moan, then a sort of half-strangled scream and a crash had Ruby drop her glass in surprise before pushing open his door. 

The room was dark except for the small flame that had lit the corner of his already singed quilt “fuck” Cole quickly patted out the flames with his bare hands as soon as it was out Ruby turned on the light and sat down next to Cole on the mattress “are you alright?” she asked as Cole ran one of his hands through his hair. “Goddamn that’s what I get for trying to sleep right,” he said sarcastically but it didn’t hide the haunted look on his face. 

“What were you dreaming about?” she asked “You finding me when I was taken, training, Sawtooth…” he listed off on his fingers, Ruby placed a hand on his knee and he groaned leaning forward and putting his head in his hands “How can you even dream about so many things at once?” she asked wrapping an arm around his shoulders as he leaned into her tiredly “turns out my mind is a dark place full of monsters” Ruby sighed and caught sight of Liam, Harry, and Grace standing in the doorway. 

Cole seemed to have a pretty accurate guess as to what was going on when Ruby didn’t respond “Lee’s standing in the doorway isn’t he?” Ruby looked up to see a confused Harry and heartbroken Grace standing in the doorway “He’s not the only one” Coles neck snapped up so quickly even Ruby was surprised. 

No one said anything for a solid minute until Harry finally broke the silence “Why does it smell like smoke in here?” he asked in a low dangerous tone. Cole looked like he didn’t know whether to be relieved that Harry hadn’t heard what he said or horrified because this was what he'd been afraid of for so long. He opened his mouth to say something but shut it again. 

While it was clear that Harry was angry Ruby could also tell that Grace and Liam had heard his previous comment. Grace turned to Liam and embraced him tearily while Harry stood fuming at Cole "I asked you a question” he hissed his anger growing as Cole sat silently “I… uh… It was an accident” he muttered still not looking like he was fully there, looking half caught up in dreams. Harry just looked like he didn’t know how to handle his previously delinquent stepson that was now legally an adult lighting something on fire in his house. 

Cole just looked terrified, honestly, he looked like he wanted to die. Then Harry saw the black pistol on his nightstand and all hell broke loose. “WHY THE HELL DO YOU HAVE A GUN ON YOUR NIGHTSTAND!” He bellowed shocking everyone else. “Hey get in here before you wake up Vida and Chubs,” Liam said pulling everyone into the smoky room and shutting the door “Now can we please just calm down,” Liam said sitting on Ruby’s other side and leaving his parents to stand up in front of them. “I just, why do you do this?” Grace asked “why do you have to light things on fire” Ruby was expecting Cole to lash out and defend himself but instead he just sat there silently pressing closer to Ruby. 

“It wasn’t… I didn’t do it on purpose…” he said uncertainty Grace was crying and Harry was furious “Goddamn Cole you’re not fourteen anymore!” he hissed as Cole flinched away from him remaining silent. 

“Alright, I’m done with this” Liam said standing up and throwing his arms in the air “just lay off him, okay? He said it was an accident” Harry didn’t look convinced “how do you accidentally light something on fire?” Harry asked as Cole sat frozen in his seat. 

“Look it’s late, why don’t we just go to sleep?” Ruby asked as Grace ran a hand through her blond hair “why am I the only one that doesn’t know what's going on with my son!” Grace exclaimed as Harry lay a reassuring hand on her leg. She promptly turned to Harry and buried her face in his shoulder. 

Finally, Cole stood up and ran a shaking hand through his hair, the light caught his skin and some of his scars from Sawtooth were thrown into the light. “I’m a Red” he whispered, effectively silencing the room. 

When no one moved Cole held out his hand and allowed a small flame to grow there, the small flickering light casting shadows over his exhausted and resigned features. 

“What,” Grace asked, raising her face towards her son in shock before taking a step back “I’m not going to hurt you,” he said quietly as Liam begged his parents to understand using only his eyes. 

“How’s this even possible” Grace muttered under her breath as Cole looked over his shoulder watching Ruby as if she could tell him what to do. 

Liam caught sight of his pleading eyes and pulled their parents off of him. “Great now that this is finally out in the open I think we all need some sleep and if you two have questions in the morning we’ll answer them then” No one looked very happy with the arrangement but Cole clearly needed space, with a soft kiss on his forehead Grace let Harry lead her from the room. 

Cole looked dazed and just sat down on his bed next to Ruby in silence. “I told you this wouldn’t change anything for them, for any of us,” Liam said sitting down on Cole's other side he didn’t say anything but he nodded a little bit to show that he heard. 

Liam took one look at Cole and Ruby before announcing his immediate departure and leaving the room. 

Cole snapped and a small flame flickered to life in his palm, it was quickly extinguished before he lit it again. Finally, Ruby reached out and put an arm on his bicep “Cole?” she asked carefully, watching his blank expression be cast into shadow every time he lit the flame in his hand. 

“Gem…” he muttered, sounding a little confused “I don’t understand” Ruby drew a sharp breath quickly into her lungs before exhaling slowly “they love you, Cole, we all do” he just shook his head in disbelief or denial. “They don’t understand, they’ll think that they can fix it, fix me…” Ruby sighed as he rambled. 

“It’s not just IAAN she's been trying to justify my flaws my whole life, before any of this started when I was angry she wanted me to tell her what happened but it wasn’t like that, nothing ever happened I was just angry and I didn’t know why and now she’ll want to explain it all away using this. I’m her precious little boy who is just a little sick…” He finally ran out of air and sat there in silence, the heat of his body warmed her in waves, pulsing in time with his erratic heartbeat. 

“They’ll never understand what it’s like for you but now, for the first time, they can at least try to understand why you did some of the things you did.” All she got in response was a sharp nod from Cole. 

Ruby could see the silent tears sliding down his cheeks. As he reached to wipe at his face Ruby caught his wrist in her hand, pulling his hand down to her knee and putting her hand over his she reached out with her other hand and turned his face towards hers “It’s okay” she said looking at him “I’m not okay though, and I should be. I mean this is what I’ve wanted for years but now I don’t even know what to do with myself.”

This time Ruby let him wipe his tears away with his other hand. 

“I guess I thought if they understood my power they’d understand me but…” Ruby interrupted him by sneezing harshly into her shoulder. Cole's stunning blue eyes widened “Oh god, you're still sick, I forgot you were sick… I’m a terrible friend, or brother in law, or… I should’ve remembered… I’m such a fucking idiot…” Ruby stared at him in surprise unsure how to handle his latest 180. 

“Okay you need to calm down,” Ruby said turning his face towards her again “Your not an idiot and I’m alright” Ruby coughed again and Cole glared at her “You need to go to sleep, you don’t want to be sick on Christmas and…” “I’m fine,” Ruby interrupted causing them to glare at each other. 

Cole still managed to look a little intimidating even with the tears on his face. “You’re going to go back to Lee’s room and go to sleep with your lovely husband right now,” Cole said, “I’m not leaving you!” Ruby hissed back, glaring “Fine then sleep here” Cole blurted out. 

Ruby stared at him with shock written all over her face as he put his head in his hands, which didn’t cover the embarrassed flush of his cheeks. “I’m so sorry Gem, that was inappropriate” he muttered making Ruby laugh “Fine I’ll stay here” Ruby shrugged as Cole mumbled into his hands. Ruby leaned over and bumped her shoulder into his “but I get the bed” Ruby said, more in an effort to make Cole feel better than anything else. 

“Of course” he muttered, grabbing the blanket from the bed and folding it up, laying down on the ground. Ruby rolled her eyes fondly at him as she climbed into his bed. 

“Cole” she whispered “you’re a wonderful brother-in-law and an even better friend” She could see his small smile even in the dark “g’night Gem” he responded quietly. Ruby knew there was no way he could fall asleep after the evening's events but she wished him sweet dreams anyways before drifting off to sleep.  
_  
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_

Christmas dawned bright and clear and Ruby woke up in Liam's arms. “Good morning darlin’ Merry Christmas,” Liam said with the brightest smile on his face. “Cole carried you in here this morning” he answered her unspoken question nodding and giving Liam a smile in return “Merry Christmas, Lee '' she responded with a yawn. 

“How long do you think we can lay in bed before someone interrupts us?” Liam asked with a brilliant smile leaning over and kissing Ruby lightly “Probably not very-” Ruby was cut off abruptly in the middle of her sentence by Vida screaming “Those are my socks, Charles! I swear to god if you don’t give me back my fucking socks…” Ruby looked at Liam and the moment their eyes met they broke into hysterical laughter. 

“How much do you wanna bet they’re building some shelves downstairs right now?” Liam asked with a smirk, wiggling his eyebrows at Ruby. She rolled her eyes at him “Let's just stay in bed a little longer” no sooner were the words out of her mouth then the bedroom door flew open revealing Zu and Jude. 

Zu was wearing a little pink dress with a bow in her long black hair and she was pulling Jude by his hand as she ran across the small room and leaped onto the cuddle pile that was Ruby and Liam. Pulling Jude down with her.

Instantly both teenagers were talking over each other at full speed telling Liam and Ruby approximately every word that had been spoken to them since they last saw the Stewarts at their wedding three months ago. 

In a silmoutanise moment of silence, both of them stopped talking and looked at the young couple expectantly, clearly waiting for an answer. “Um…” Ruby muttered at the same time Liam said “what?” Both teenagers smirked at each other, Zu’s signature ‘seriously look’ perfectly reflected on Jude's face. 

Before they could say anything else Vida, Chubs, and surprisingly Cole opened the door “There's food downstairs and some presents-” Liam and Jude both shot up and looked at each other, Jude grabbed Zu’s hand and started pulling the laughing girl towards the stairs “c’mon there are presents!” he whispered to her excitedly (and very loudly). Meanwhile, Liam stared at Ruby as if he could project his excitement onto her just by pleading with his eyes “Can we, can we go downstairs” he asked as Jude stood impatiently in the doorway waiting for Zu who was currently wrapped up in Chubs and Vida’s arms. 

Ruby waited a minute pretending to think about it while Cole stood smiling in the doorway and Liam stood very still not wanting to bounce around as much as Jude. “I suppose that would be fine-” Ruby started before being cut off by a quick hard kiss that ended to reveal Liam’s smiling face. 

“Yes Ruby said we can go, can we go now Zu? Please, please, please can we go?” he begged. Zu nodded happily and Jude pulled her out of the room followed by Liam and Ruby, leaving Cole, Vida, and Chubs in the doorway rolling their eyes and following the rest of the group down to the living room. 

As they paraded into the living room Liam, Zu, and Jude attacked the presents with an enthusiasm unparalleled by anyone that had ever lived. Meanwhile, Ruby sidled over to Cate and embraced her “Ruby! It’s nice to see you’re up and around again, only wish I could say the same about everyone” Cate said wrapping her arms around Ruby as Liam gave an excited shout in the background. Ruby followed Cates eyes to where Cole sat on the ground next to the tree. 

He had his knees brought up to his chest with his chin resting on them, it didn’t look right, it just didn’t look like him. Cate was looking at him and then across the room to where Harry and Grace sat watching Cole. They didn’t look quite afraid but they were watching him cautiously. 

When Ruby turned back around Cate's hand closed around her wrist and led her into the entryway, “What’s going on with him?” Cate asked looking over at Cole who was fidgeting with the cuff of his long-sleeved shirt “uh he told his parents last night and now they’re very elegantly dancing around the subject and-” she started watching Cole “and now he feels abandoned all over again.” Cate finished.

Ruby didn’t confirm or deny Cate's assumption and Cate didn’t need her to, they both knew she was right. Cate patted Ruby’s shoulder before walking back into the room. She walked over to Cole and tapped his shoulder, to Ruby’s surprise a small smile split his face when he caught sight of Cate. He said something Ruby couldn’t hear and Cate nodded, a moment later Cole stood and the two of them walked outside. 

As much as she worried about Cole right now she just wanted to have a nice Christmas with her husband. Crossing the floor she sat beside Liam who was watching Zu unwrap a gift, she carefully pulled off the paper to reveal a small necklace. Zu’s eyes grew wide and her mouth fell open. The necklace was a small silver heart on a blue and white checkered ribbon. Ruby could see Liam fidgeting, he’d spent nearly three hours picking out Zu’s present and he was clearly afraid she wouldn’t like it. “I just I remember you said something about The Wizard of Oz and it had the blue and white like Dorothy’s dress and... “ before he could finish Zu had thrown her arms around Liam's stomach. 

He looked bewildered but he wrapped his arms around her anyway. To be honest neither of them knew why Zu was so attached to the story of Dorothy but they’d been watching The Wizard of Oz at Cates about a year ago and she had sobbed silently through the whole movie but refused to let them turn it off. She seemed a little sad but there was no doubt that she loved the necklace, her fingers had barely stopped stroking the charm since Lee had clipped it around her neck. 

The gift exchange continued until Cole returned with a large box wrapped in blue paper. He placed it in front of Liam and his fingers were still fidgeting with his sleeve. Liam looked surprised by the large gift and picked up the box holding it “This is from you?” he asked Cole seeming a little confused “yes, I uh thought you’d like it, Ruby approved and… just open it” he finished sounding a little nervous. Ruby reached over and brushed her fingers across Coles busted knuckles, the skin was angry and red with deep barely scabbed over cuts but he smiled at the gesture. 

Finally, Liam was done pulling off the paper he opened the box which was empty save a few Rocks. If Ruby felt confused it was nothing to how Liam looked “Okay thanks Cole” he said cocking his head to the side “There's an envelope inside” Cole said quietly. Liam opened the fancy-looking envelope and inside there was a hastily written note on a piece of notebook paper, in Coles shaky cursive scrawl were the words “your presents outside” Liam gave Cole a look that was like ‘really you could have just said that” Cole rolled his eyes and walked outside. 

Ruby gripped Liam's elbow and led him out onto the lawn. “Close your eyes Lee” Cole called, Liam looked at Ruby “you wouldn’t support him if he was gonna, like, throw something at me right?” Ruby laughed a little “Of course not Lee” he still looked confused but his bright blue eyes were full of trust as he allowed Ruby to place her hands over her eyes. 

When Cole turned around the small golden puppy nestled in his arms, its fur was long and soft and it had a blue ribbon around its neck. “Put your arms out,” Cole said and Liam obeyed. Ruby offered Cole a smile and he placed the sleepy puppy into Liam's arms.

Liam's eyes flew open “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! It’s a puppy! It’s soooo cute, and soft, and look how sleepy it is. Can we keep it, please, please, please say we can keep it darlin’” Liam begged, dropping to his knees and cradling the squirming animal to his chest as it licked his face. 

“Of course we can keep, him” Ruby said watching as Liam's smile grew. He placed the puppy on the ground and Zu and Jude practically fell on it in their excitement. Liam turned to Cole and wrapped his arms around Cole's chest “thank you, thank you, thank you!” he exclaimed, clinging to his brother's shirt. 

Cole’s blue eyes were blown wide and he looked so unsure as his arms hesitantly wrapped around Lee’s waist. Ruby could feel her heart swelling at the sight and Grace stood in the doorway watching the two boys as the puppy scrambled around their feet. “Merry Christmas Lee,” Cole said with a small smile.


End file.
